Jimmy Kimmel is mourning the death of his longtime friend and bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III.
FILE - People walk by the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio on Hollywood Blvd., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Los Angeles. FILE - Cleto Escobedo III, left, and Guillermo Rodriguez from Jimmy Kimmel Live arrive at the Imagen Awards on Aug.
12, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. This image released by Disney shows Cleto Escobedo on the set of"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in March 2025. is mourning the death of one of his oldest friends — his show's bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III. Kimmel announced Escobedo's death Tuesday on Instagram, saying “that we are heartbroken is an understatement.” Escobedo was 59.“We just met one day on the street, and there were a few kids on the street, and him and I just became really close friends, and we kind of had the same sense of humor. We just became pals, and we’ve been pals ever since,” Escobedo said in a 2022 interview for Texas Tech University's Southwest Collection oral history archive, disclosing that he and Kimmel were huge fans of David Letterman as kids. Escobedo would grow up to become a professional musician, specializing in the saxophone, and touring with Earth, Wind and Fire's Phillip Bailey andHe recorded with Marc Anthony, Tom Scott and Take Six. When Kimmel got his own ABC late-night talk show in 2003, he lobbied for Escobedo to lead the house band on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Of course I wanted great musicians, but I wanted somebody I had chemistry with,” Kimmel told WABC in 2015. “And there’s nobody in my life I have better chemistry with than him.” In 2016, on Escobedo’s 50th birthday, Kimmel dedicated a segment to his friend, recalling pranks with a BB gun or mooning people from the back of his mom's car. “Cleto had a bicycle with a sidecar attached to it. We called it the side hack. I would get in the sidecar and then Cleto would drive me directly into garbage cans and bushes,” Kimmel recalled. News of Escobedo’s death comes after Thursday's episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was abruptly canceled. David Duchovny, Joe Keery and Madison Beer were set as the show’s guests. The date and cause of Escobedo's death weren't immediately known. Escobedo's father is also a member of the Kimmel house band and plays tenor and alto saxophones. In January 2022,“Jimmy asked me, ‘Who are we going to get in the band?’ I said, ‘Well, my normal guys,’ and he knew my guys because he had been coming to see us and stuff before he was famous, just to come support me and whatever. I’d invite him to gigs, and if he didn’t have anything to do he’d come check it out, so he knew my guys,” Escobedo recounted in the 2022 interview. “Then he just said, ‘Hey, man, what about your dad? Wouldn’t that be kind of cool?’ I was like, ‘That would be way cool.’”“Touring and all that stuff is fun, but it’s more of a young man’s game. Touring, also, too, is not really conducive for family life. I’ve learned over the years, being on the road and watching how hard it is, leaving your kids for so long. Sometimes they’re babies; you come back and then they’re talking, it’s like, ‘What?’” he said.“The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers,” Kimmel wrote. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Politics & Power: How curbing H-1B visas could affect US economyTravis Hunter undergoes knee surgery, Jaguars announce; will miss rest of seasonCity celebrates service members at 2025 Veterans Day Parade1 dead, 1 injured after multiple house fires break out across Jacksonville overnightCold snap breaks records with more freezing temps on the wayHere are some tips to avoid fire safety hazards when dealing with cold weather1:02Fall into fun with all the local Northeast Florida events from Nov. 10 - Nov. 16Jacksonville father of six turns to food pantries and extra work amid SNAP benefit haltRichard's Swing Makeover Pt. 9: Using a jig to align the hand-forged hardwareCommunity mourns beloved stunt pilot after deadly plane crashGov. DeSantis makes Atlantic red snapper announcementEverything you need to know to prepare for the upcoming cold snap▶Flight cancellations at Jacksonville International AirportWeather Whiplash: Plummeting temps after 80-degree weekend. Here's what you need to knowAftermath of stunt plane crash at Keystone Airport that left St. Augustine man deadClay County teen talks about what inspired him to give support dogs to othersAriel tries the 'Reese's Coco Loco' at the Jacksonville FairSwing Makeover Pt. 8: Break out the power tools; it's time to prep the hardware for paintHow JAX is being affected by flight delays caused by FAA reduction because of shutdownCouncilman to request $2M in emergency funding to help those impacted by SNAP benefits disruptionsCouncilman to request $2M in emergency funding to help those impacted by SNAP benefits disruptionsWarm start to the weekend, cold snap arrives early next weekAn aerial look at Riverfront Plaza as Phase 1 nears completion
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